Tag: Slovakia

Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner responsible for education and culture, has urged EU leaders not to cut the budget for culture. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Today’s economic crisis acts as a catalyst for the “acceleration of history”, a phenomenon similar to the times after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which brought something which was not expected - the split of Czechoslovakia - former Slovak foreign minister and current MEP Eduard Kukan told EurActiv.

Two entrepreneurs are breathing life into news media in some of the EU's newer members, including Slovakia and Slovenia, writes Marius Dragomir.

​Slovakia's centre-left leader Robert Fico assured Brussels yesterday (11 March) that he was a reliable partner after he scored a landslide election victory and prepared to replace a government that collapsed in a row over eurozone bailouts.

Slovak politicians head into March elections embroiled in a massive corruption probe prompted by the publication of an alleged intelligence file code-named 'Gorilla'. It suggests that members of leading political parties colluded with financiers in privatisation and public procurement projects. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Slovakia yesterday became the last country to approve a reform of the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). But the good news was spoiled by worrying signals from Spain, whose credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor's amid worsening growth prospects.

Gambling with the markets and the international effort to save Greece from bankruptcy, the Slovak centre-left opposition yesterday (11 October) won the promise of a re-vote for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). EurActiv Slovakia contributed to this article.

After unproductive talks with a junior coalition partner, Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová announced that a parliamentary vote to ratify the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) could take place alongside a vote of confidence on her own government. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

The Slovak Ministry of Transportation said it will reallocate 180 million of EU funding on science, research and education in favour of building road infrastructure, triggering alarm bells within the scientific community. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Cash shortages and uncertainty over energy prices are delaying or cutting back nuclear power projects across Central and South-Eastern Europe, threatening energy supply and a push to abandon polluting coal.

Poland and Slovakia have agreed to launch a feasibility study for a natural gas pipeline known as the 'Poland-Slovakia interconnection'. A decision on whether to proceed with the project will be made in 2012. EurActiv Poland and EurActiv Slovakia report.

Long-term unemployment is a major problem in Slovakia, partly due to the fact that many people prefer to receive social benefits instead of slightly higher wages. The country hopes that the 'Europe 2020' strategy can help overcome this and other problems. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Amid strong criticism from the EU for refusing to participate in the Greek bailout, Slovakia's foreign ministry has republished on its website a Financial Times commentary seen as defending the country's decision, but apparently without asking for permission. EurActiv Slovakia contributed to this article.

The EU's Eastern European newcomers, who still need to catch up with the rest of the Union in terms of economic and social development, face an uphill battle to attain the 'climate targets' laid out in the bloc's 'Europe 2020' strategy, a round-up of articles from the EurActiv media network reveals.

Slovakia's parliament and the cabinet must be consulted before the country can sign off on the European Union's 440 billion euro ($554 bln) aid mechanism, new Slovakian Prime Minister Iveta Radičová said on Monday (12 July).

The incoming Slovak government will have to define national targets based on the EU's 20/20/20 climate and energy goals. A clear national climate strategy is lacking so far, as is the clear attribution of primary institutional responsibility in this area. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Former Romanian dissident László Tőkés, an ethnic Hungarian, was yesterday (15 June) elected European Parliament vice-president at the insistence of Budapest, EurActiv has learned. EurActiv Romania contributed to this article.

Hungary's ruling centre-right Fidesz party stands accused of "rocking the boat" ahead of Slovakia's election tomorrow (12 June), with Bratislava denouncing a law that makes it easier for ethnic Magyars living abroad to obtain Hungarian citizenship. EurActiv Slovakia contributed to this report from Bratislava.

Despite their special interest in areas like energy security or neighbourhood policy, the East European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 have not yet become agenda-setters in Brussels, according to a new study.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso's recent criticism of Germany's calls for budgetary discipline to be tightened in the EU even if treaty change is required was "tactless", Slovak Finance Minister Ján Počiatek told EurActiv Slovakia in an exclusive interview.

Eurozone member Slovakia will vote on financial aid for debt-laden Greece only after its June election, the country's prime minister said on 3 May, insisting that Athens must do its homework on spending cuts before receiving any Slovak cash.

Prime ministers from the Visegrad group (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary) have adopted a common paper calling for fair representation of the new member states in the European External Action Service (EEAS) architecture, Ambassador Ivan Korčok, permanent representative of Slovakia to the EU, told EurActiv in an interview.

The 'bicycle trail without frontiers' project connects Slovakia with neighbouring towns in Austria and Hungary, helping to build interregional links and eco-tourism.

Nationalist and extremist parties could do well in forthcoming national elections in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, warned political scientists at a recent debate held in Paris. EurActiv France reports.